Oliver Fire Chief Discusses Ambulance Delays and Funding

The Oliver fire chief has highlighted an increase in medical calls, attributing it to overwhelmed health services such as hospital closures and ambulance delays. Despite these challenges, the department is not seeking additional workload changes.

Oliver Fire Chief Ash Regner addressed the community on September 6th regarding a significant rise in medical calls over the past three years. According to data presented by Regner, there has been an 11% increase in such calls, which he attributes to a surge in other emergency services like RCMP and BC Emergency Health Services (EHS). The number of calls from these sources has grown from 13-24 to 25-28. Despite this rise, Regner emphasized that the Oliver Fire Department is not currently requiring any workload changes.

To mitigate ambulance delays and improve response times, Regner urged council members to advocate for improvements at a local ambulance station. Additionally, he highlighted a $450,000 revenue boost provided by BC Wildfire Service in 2026, with $189,000 allocated back into wages for the department. The fire chief also mentioned ongoing efforts to install an exhaust extraction system and upgrade storage infrastructure.

Regner's presentation underscored the complex interplay between various emergency services and the need for collaborative solutions to address service inefficiencies.